Capital amnesty has been extended

Since June 1, 2019 starts the prolongation of capital amnesty that provides relief from responsibility for currency and tax violations for Russian citizens who have returned their assets to the country voluntarily.

According to the Ministry of Finance, during the previous stages about 19,000 returns have been filed, and assets of several billions dollars have been returned.

Amnesty extension will last until February 29, 2020. In the course of this period Russian citizens can declare their foreign property and accounts, receive an exemption for personal income tax and corporate profit tax of foreign companies under their control, if registered as tax residents of Russia.

Relief from criminal responsibility is guaranteed by amendments to Article 761 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Cash assets are to be returned to Russian banks, and companies are to be re-registered in special administrative districts of the Kaliningrad region and Primorye territory. In these regions budget taxes are set at zero rate. Zero rate is also set for dividends paid by holding companies to majority shareholders that own over 15% of the company’s capital for at least a year before the decision to pay dividends. Income of foreign persons from shares of public holding companies are taxed at 5% rate.

The advantages of this amnesty scheme are beyond question. The issue of assets preservation for business becomes more and more urgent under the conditions of increasing sanctions pressure.